


The Secret Spot

by Bill_Custard



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dalish Elves, Elves, M/M, Mages (Dragon Age), Original Character(s), Past, Past Relationship(s), Pre-Canon, Shemlen, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 12:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20447252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bill_Custard/pseuds/Bill_Custard
Summary: When Sylvas Lavellan becomes the herald, everyone is surprised how well spoken he is and how easily he can adapt to living amongst humans. This is not just a natural talent, however. Humans have always been an interest of his.Being trained as the clan's future keeper, Sylvas has learned much. He never had a human friend, though - until the day he meets a human boy in the forest.This is a story set several years before inqisition, when the future inquisitor Lavellan was still a teenager.





	The Secret Spot

He knew he shouldn't be this reckless. But on the other hand, it was fun. He was watching the shems through the thicket, interested in studying their behaviour. He had, of course, seen lots of shems before. As a matter of fact, his clan was one of the very few who regularly traded with humans, and they had several members who had been city elves before joining their clan. Sylvas had been taught how to talk to shems. It was important, especially since he was a mage. If he ever ran into templars, he needed to be able to convince them that he was harmless and very much a non magical person. More than that, he seemed to have a talent for diplomacy. So his keeper had him taken to the cities before, where he could meet shems, barter with them, and generally get to know them. Shems were interesting to Sylvas. For some reason, he just wanted to know more about them, even though of course, on a certain level, he hated them.

He had even gotten to know and like some shems before. Obviously not enough to not usually think of them as "shems" any more, but he had liked that one human trader who would give him peaches, and the man who had come to his defence when he had been accused of stealing. He had even met some human apostates in the woods two years ago, and it had been quite the interesting encounter. They had been scared of the strange elven boy at first, but they actually became something like friends after a while, when he kept sneaking out of camp to meet them and discuss magic, bringing them whatever food he could spare in exchange for new things to learn. When they went missing, he didn't really like thinking about what might have happened to them. Fucking templars, probably. They were amongst the worst kinds of shems. The only ones he was actually afraid of. He was reasonably certain he could take a certain amount of the normal ones.

Like those three, threatening the fourth. They were young, none of them could be more than a year older than Sylvas. One of them looked like he might be 17, but they didn't look especially bright. Quite the opposite. They looked brutish and a little bit too big (even for shems), though they didn't have the shem-characteristic beards, and their voices were quite high. He didn't like the way they talked.

"So you're telling me you're going into the forest to read?", one of them said, for the 4th time. He was large and beefy, with short black hair and a very small forehead.

"Fucking bookworms", another one said. He was smaller than the other two, but Sylvas had a notion that maybe he might be the most dangerous one.

"You sure you're not some fucking mage?", the third one said. He was tall and chubby, with blond hair and meaty hands. 

"Why can't you just go away?" The boy they were threatening was the one who interested Sylvas the most. He was just a little bit taller than the small one in their group, and his hair was brown and wavy. Sylvas thought he might be around the age of 15 or 16. He had soft dark eyes and was rather soft spoken, even though these other boys should, technically, be frightening him to death. Pressed against his chest he was holding a big book, and for some reasons the bullies had not yet been able to take it away from him. 

"You really shouldn't have come here", the big one said.

"Yes, you really, really shouldn't have come here", the blond one said. 

Sylvas tightened the grip around his staff. It was going down any second now.

"You know", the small one said", we don't like little sniffles like you. And we especially don't like you. You're annoying."

He grabbed the other boy's shirt and shoved him against a tree. He was still tightly hugging his book.

"Please", he said, fear now flickering in his eyes for the first time, "please don't."

The big one took another step towards him and pressed his neck firmly against the tree, pulling out a pocket knife. "What do you think, boys? Should we put his eye out, so he won't come sniffing after us any more?"

The boy started struggling, but it was too late, he was already in a position where he couldn't escape any more.

"I really don't like bullies, you know", Sylvas said. All of their heads turned around to him, who had appeared right in the middle of the way, arcane energy crackling around his staff and hands. "Why don't you start running, before I turn all of you into ash?" For effect, he pushed his hood back, showing off his new valasslin. For some reason, they usually intimidated humans. He took a step. "Run," he said, before unleashing several bolts of lightning on them. He didn't have to repeat it another time. Stumbling and suddenly panicked, they started running off, screaming.

The one they had bullied was still there, leaning against the tree, hugging his book, panting. He was looking at Sylvas, awe in his eyes.

"Are you all right?", Sylvas asked.

"I..."

Sylvas knew shems usually needed a little time to adjust to suddenly seeing a dalish. Most shems never saw a dalish elf. Or a mage. He leaned on his staff and smiled at the boy. He really liked the way he looked. With those big soft eyes, he almost looked elven.

"What... who are you?", the shem asked.

"I'm Sylvas. What is your name?"

The other boy tried out a very shaky smile. "I'm Brenden. Thank you so much, I... I really don't want to know what they would have done..." He shuddered.

"You need to learn how to hit back, Brenden", Sylvas said.

"But I really don't want to. I have better things to do." He looked down at his book.

"Like reading?"

"That too." He was still looking at Sylvas' face, tracing his Valass'lin with his eyes. "Are you dalish?", he asked.

"I am."

"I've... I've never seen a dalish elf before. I never really thought you existed."

"We don't show ourselves too often, it's true. Also a pity, I think. Nice shems like you might loose an eye otherwise."

"Shems?"

"Humans."

Brenden nodded, with a look like he was taking notes in his head.

"What are you reading?", Sylvas asked, "I'm always interested in new books."

"You... read?", Brenden asked.

"Why, of course... You don't really think us that uncivilized, right?"

"I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have presumed..."

Sylvas had to smile. This human was too cute to be angry at.

"Why don't you show me what you're reading? Who knows, I might surprise you. I've read lots of books. It's hard to get them sometimes, though. We don't get too many opportunities to trade for books with humans." 

He hoped Brenden would share. He longed for something new to read. He had his own little chest of books. It was his only treasure in his aravel, but he had read every book in there at least 5 times. He had basically read every single book the clan posessed as a whole at least two times. Whenever they could trade for books, he got new ones - but it wasn't more than two or three times a year. Not nearly enough for someone who preferred books to hunting, or building, or nature, or even people. Not that he had ever been discouraged from reading. As a potential future keeper, it was essential for him to know as much as he could possibly learn.

"I..." Brenden looked unsure. "I usually come here to read and to draw animals. I have this spot..." Sylvas realized he was, in fact, holding a folder with papers between his book and his chest - probably some kind of sketchbook. 

"I can be very quiet, as you know. You could let me read while you draw!" Sylvas hoped he didn't scare the other boy away. He was just so starved for new input.

To his relief, however, Brenden nodded and led the way. He still had the tiniest bit of fear in his eyes, but there was more curiosity now. Sylvas could appreciate a person who pushed fear aside in favor of curiosity. "I've never seen a mage", Brenden said.

"Really? For us dalish, mages are just as normal as anyone else."

"But... don't you have circles?" 

"We don't need them. We get taught everything we need by our keepers. I will tell you all about it, if you want me to. But if you really want to draw animals - maybe we should wait with the talking until you got what you want."

Brenden smiled at him and nodded. Then he gave him the book. It was an adventure story. A very long adventure story. Sylvas' favourite kind of book. He was usually encouraged to read books on history, especially elven history, and magic - but he loved fictional stories. He smiled at Brenden gratefully and they sneaked over Brenden's spot. Sylvas had to smile about the way Brenden was trying to be quiet, but failing. 

It probably was a good spot for drawing animals, Syvlas estimated, a closed off little section of brushes, where Brenden had obviously set up multiple times before. He took a blanket out of a box he had stashed under a bush and spread it on the ground, inviting Sylvas with a gesture. Then he put out food for the animals, and they waited.

Sylvas started reading. It was a book about a boy who went treasure hunting with a group of other young adventurers, and very quickly they became involved in bigger troubles. Sylvas loved it. It was his kind of story: Interesting characters, a fun plot, friendship, hints to a little bit of romance later, and the discovery of ancient secrets. It was only when he was about three chapters in that he first realized Brenden was looking at him. It wasn't much of a surprise, and he kept reading, too involved in the story to notice Brendens gaze on him. 

They sat like this for probably close to two hours, Sylvas completely involved in the adventure story, Brenden sketching. Finally, Sylvas needed a break. He closed the book, sighed, and leaned back, looking up into the trees. Brenden still didn't say anything, but now Sylvas definitely realized he was sketching him. He smiled.

"Didn't see any animals, did you?", Sylvas said.

Brenden blushed. "I'm really sorry", he stammered, "I should have asked you..." He looked at his sketch. "How could I not draw you? You're the most interesting person I've ever seen."

Sylvas smiled. "Show me."

Brenden's sketches were very good. Two of them were Sylvas reading, one of them showed Sylvas shooting lightning, and one of them was a very rough, quickly drawn sketch of Sylvas lying on his back, looking to the sky, his long hair flowing over is shoulder. 

"You're amazing", Sylvas said, "These are incredible!" 

"You like them?"

"Lots!" Sylvas took the sketchbook out of Brenden's hands to look at them more closely. He loved the dynamic one, showing him in a threatening pose, arcane energy seeping out of his eyes and hands, swinging his staff and shooting lightning. But he loved the second one of the sketches that showed him reading even more. He liked the expression in his eyes, the details in his hands, and the details in his face, down to every tiny dot of his valasslin... This made him look beautiful. He had never quite thought of himself as that.

"Thank you", he said finally, giving Brenden his book back.

"For what?"

"I don't think I've ever liked pictures of myself quite as much as these."

"So... I guess I won't draw any animals any more today," Brenden said, looking up to the sky. The light was already fading. 

"I haven't finished the book", Sylvas said quickly.

"Of course you haven't. It's really long."

"Can I borrow it?"

Brenden's brows furrowed. Sylvas saw him thinking, probably about the fact that Sylvas could take it anyway if he wanted to, and about the fact that he was thinking of Sylvas as some wild savage living in a tent.

"I haven't finished it myself," he said.

Sylvas bit his lip. An unfinished story was almost as bad as no stories at all.

"Why don't we meet again, tomorrow, two hours after noon? I'm planning on actually drawing animals this time."

Sylvas smiled. "That would be lovely. Why don't I escort you out of the forest, in case you run into any more bullies?"

Brenden smiled and started folding his blanket. "Those guys are idiots," he said, "they only wanted to hide the fact that they were meeting in the forest to take drugs."

"You know them?"

"Well, yes... They live on the same estate."

"Are you some kind of lord, or something?", Sylvas asked. He'd always wanted to meet human nobles and see if they were actually as bad as he had been told. 

"Not really, no", the boy smiled, "my mum's a servant, and my dad... I don't really know, to be honest."

Sylvas' imagination ran wild for a couple of seconds. Humans assigned a lot of meaning to parentage, didn't they? He'd read about the scandal of not knowing one's father, because the parents hadn't been married, especially amongst nobles. He'd always found that utterly ridiculous, but it was probably not easy when you actually were human. Maybe Brenden was the bastard son of some lord? What if this was the reason he was bullied? What if there was some unspoken, dark secret about this boy? 

"And you? How do you fit in? You're not exactly what one would expect a servant's boy to be like." Sylvas hoped he made this statement with enough conviction to cover the fact that he had no idea what a servant's boy was usually like. 

"I'm not a servant. My mother has a very respected and well payed position. I could be a butler or something when I grow up, but I don't want to. They also tried to make a soldier of me, but you can imagine how that went... My mom wants me to be able to choose my own path. I am probably going to attend the university soon. It's all I ever wanted. Then I can study biology and really get to know the animals I keep drawing."

"Not art?"

"It's a hobby. And a good zoologist might need a certain talent for drawing."

"Probably, yes." This was going well. Brenden obviously didn't notice Sylvas had no idea what a zoologist did.

"My turn." Brenden was walking very slowly, as if to prolong their conversation. Sylvas didn't mind. "Are you very special amongst your people?"

"What do you mean? The magic?"

"That too, but also the way in which you talk, and act... your reading, and being funny. I was always taught your people were savages, but I am happy to learn otherwise."

"I don't know what you mean by "savages", to be honest. We live in aravels, and we hunt our food. We pray to different gods. We treat mages different. Does that make us savage? Or isn't it rather your perspective on us which makes us savage?"

Brenden walked a couple of metres in silence. "You might be right. I don't want to see people as savage. Let's ask this way: I am weird for everyone where I live. Are you weird for the people you live with as well?"

Sylvas chuckled. "I suppose I am. Hunting never was much fun to me. Luckily I don't have to hunt, since my path is that of a keeper. Keepers hold our stories, our culture, and they are mages. They lead the clan and protect it from harm."

"You will lead your clan one day?" Brenden's eyes were dark with admiration.

"Possibly. My keeper is still rather young, so the decision will hopefully be a long way off, at least twenty or thirty years. There are other candidates, of course. Anyone with magic, really. But I am very, very good in a fight. That's a plus. Also, I love reading more than anything else. I'm not sure if that is a plus or minus. Maybe it would be better if I concentrated on doing elf-stuff, rituals, oral storytelling and such. But I'm just more interested in the world. To be perfectly honest, sometimes I don't even see myself as a seeker. Sometimes I think I should be out there, meeting new people, seeing new places, cities, palaces, maybe a war." He couldn't believe he confided in this shem. His soft gaze was somehow opening him up to talk about himself, which he usually didn't, to better keep his distance from the people he would lead in the future. "On the other hand, I am initiated now." He pointed at his valasslin, and despite the topic, a certain pride arouse in him. "Humans are usually afraid of elves like me."

Brenden laughed. "I can't possibly imagine why."

They laughed together. "I mean, apart from when I shoot lightning at them, of course."

“We’re here,” Brenden said. The narrow path they had been following led through an opening in the hedge, probably too narrow for any grown up shems to notice, but Sylvas had noticed before that young shems usually had a lot more imagination, which made them better at finding secrets. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Sylvas asked. He felt suddenly insecure, for the first time.

“Two hours after noon, yes.” Brenden smiled. Sylvas was fascinated by everything about his face, the high forehead, the soft brown curls, the even softer brown eyes, and those teeth with a big gap in the front, revealed by his smile. Brenden was actually quite beautiful. Sylvas would never have though it possible, for a shem to be beautiful.

“I’ll wait. Somewhere around here. I’ll be hidden.”

Brenden smiled and climbed through the opening in the hedge. His strange human clothes got disheveled, and Sylvas grinned when he watched him trying to tidy himself up. He watched him make his way to the estate, books under his arm, turning around from time to time, as if to check if Sylvas was still there. He couldn’t see him, of course. Hiding was second nature to him, and he was in a dangerous place.


End file.
